Author's Note:
I'm so sorry everyone! I know you've all been waiting for an update, and I know it's no excuse, but writer's block can be a big pain in the a$$ when you're trying to get your story where you want it to be, but thankfully I have overcome my writer's block will be trying to update more often. I'm not letting myself forget about my stories.
So I hope you like this update, and by tomorrow I will have another one. Hopefully. :)
Hermione watched her new friend's face sadden and knew that there was something bothering her, and it had to do with the blonde that they had met.
A scream, a splash, and shocked gasps was heard on the other wise quiet lake.
"Looks like the squid wanted to play," Cassie said, off-handily, as she looked down at the lake's water to see the ripples that the squid had caused when splashing several boats in front of them.
"Squid?! You mean, you were serious?!" Ron exclaimed, shifting closer to Harry, who was in the middle of the boat seats' and looked fearfully at the lake.
Cassie giggled as she nodded her head to her new friends, smiling, as she leaned over the boat carefully, trailing her hand in the water, feeling the squid's tentacle touch her hand in welcome. After she felt the squid touch her hand, she took it out of the water and wiped it on her jeans that she wore underneath her skirt.
Cassie hated skirts, even though they were apart of the uniform for Hogwarts, she hated them. So to get around the rule, she wore her faded pair of black jeans, which slightly went with the black skirt she, and every female student, was forced to wear during school hours.
"But isn't he dangerous?" Hermione asked, curiously.
"Oh no! He couldn't hurt a fly!" Cassie said with enthusiasm to defend her friend that lives down in the depths of the lake.
"If you say so," Ron said, as he carefully scooted back toward his original seat.
Hermione, Cassie, Harry, and Ron, all smiled when their boat landed on the shore of the lake; they sat still as Hagrid lifted their boat and placed it firmly on the ground for them to get out of. They lined up with the other students in rows of two; Hermione and Cassie at each other sides, while Ron and Harry stood beside each other, and stood behind Hermione and Cassie.
"First yers follow me!" Hagrid cried out, as he made his way to the front of the line, and lead the students up the pathway to Hogwarts.
Everyone was chattering with the person beside them as they made their long journey up to the castle's stairs, a figure of a woman dressed in dark green, her hair in a tight bun, and her lips in a thin line, waited for them; nodding to Hagrid, Hagrid left the students in McGonagall's hands, and went back to his hut.
Mrs. McGonagall looked at the rows of children in front of her, spotting Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Cassandra Dumbledore, Neville Longbottom, and Draco Malfoy, and countless others that she knew came from couples that she had taught.
"Quiet!" She called, noticing with a hint of pride, that instantly, Cassandra and Harry snapped their heads around to her, and were quiet as others took longer to do so.
"Follow me," and with that, she turned around and lead the students inside the castle, where a burst of warm air surrounded the cold students, when the last child step through the Great Doors, they closed, shutting out the cold air of the night.
The students dutifully followed the strict woman, till she came to a stop at two great big doors like the ones that they had stepped through to get into the castle.
"Through these doors, you will be placed in your houses. Your house will be like your family, break house rules, and you will punished. Now wait here, I will see if they are ready for you," and she went through the doors, the doors closing by themselves after she had gone through.
Instantly whispers started around them, as a the pale blonde made his way closer to Harry; Cassandra, noticing the movement, hid behind a taller student as the pale blonde came closer.
Hermione, noticing her friend hiding, looked at her with her eyebrows raised, but then shrugged, she knew that her friend will tell her in due time.
(A/N quoting from the movie. And it'll be in italics and underlined. Don't sue, please!)
"It's true then, what they're saying on the train, Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts,"the pale blonde said with a small smirk gracing his features as mutters and whispers traveled through the crowd of young students.
Harry didn't look pleased, but kept his face looking blank as he looked at the pale blonde that was standing in front of him. He could see from the corner of his eye, Cassandra hiding behind Ron, who was just barely tall enough, and broad enough to hide her from the pale blonde's view.
'Why is she hiding?' Harry thought, before he could think any further and go over to her, the pale blonde thrust his hand forward.
"I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," Harry heard Ron snort in amusement and unfortunately, so did Draco.
"Think my name is funny do you? No need to ask yours,"Draco said with a nasty sneer as he took in Ron's appearance, "red hair, hand-me-down robes, you must be a Weasley," Ron didn't looked pleased and Harry and Hermione saw that he stopped smiling, and that his face showed anger and pain.
"You'll soon find out that some wizard families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort," He said, sneering at Ron and making Harry understand that he was implying that Ron wasn't good enough to be his friend.
'What a stuck up prat! He's just like Dudley but worse!' Harry thought before looking at the stretched out hand of Draco Malfoy before looking up to meet his eyes.
"I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks," Harry said, seeing the disbelief and pain in the gray eyes before Professor McGonagall tapped Harry on the shoulder making everyone's attention draw to her.
"We're ready for you,"She said before walking away, leaving the students to follow her into the Great Hall where other students older than them, watching them walk up the hall.
Hermione stood beside Cassandra grabbing her hand and giving it a small squeeze and smiling brightly at her looking up at the ceiling. She easily remembered what she read in Hogwarts: A History, but she also knew that with Cassandra living in the castle probably knew that too.
Cassandra looked up at Head table to see her dad and the other teachers she was able to meet over the little summer that she had. She smiled brightly at her dad, and receiving a wink and bright twinkling blue eyes.
"The Headmaster, he really is your dad?" Hermione asked quietly, looking at the Head table and the Headmaster before looking at her friend that was smiling brightly with excitement. Cassandra nodded her head, too excited to talk but nodded her head enthusiastically.
Hermione giggled at Cassandra's display of enthusiasm as having the Headmaster as her dad.
"When I call your name, I will put this hat on you, you'll go the house that you've been sorted to," with that said, the students watch her unrolling the long scroll that held all the first years names.
As one by one the students were called, and one by one they got sorted into their houses, some students were shocked to hear the old flabby and slightly dirty looking, hat spoke.
"Cassandra Dumbledore!" Professor McGonagall called out, picking up the sorting hat and waiting patiently for her to make her way up to the stool.
Cassandra was slightly nervous. She didn't want to be sorted into the wrong house, afraid that both her father and her dad would be disappointed in her if she got sorted into a house they didn't approve of.
Oh Cassandra knew that her dad was the headmaster of the school, but it didn't mean that he couldn't be disappointed in the new daughter of his to be sorted into the wrong house.
'Please, let me sorted into a house that dad would be proud of!' she thought, looking up at the head table, giving her dad a small smile before sitting down, facing the other students as Professor McGonagall placed the sorting hat on her head.
"Well, well, if it isn't the headmaster's new daughter, he wouldn't be disappointed in you if you were sorted into any house my dear," the sorting hat said inside her head, making Cassandra jump a little bit in surprise.
'I know, its just that, I want to make him proud of me. I don't want to let him down in some way,' Cassandra replied, fiddling with her hands.
"He will be proud of you no matter what. Now, lets decide on a house. Hmm, your very brave and loyal to those who are your friends, great for Gryffindor. You study very hard and sometimes understand the words that you read and you find enjoyment in that, great for Ravenclaw. I see that you can be shy and humble, a quality of Hufflepuff, and I can also see that you can be sly like those in Slytherin."
'It sounds like I can be good in any house. But, please, pick the one that would be best for me, and not put me in harms way,' Cassandra thought about the pale blonde Draco, and how he met her. She didn't want to be in the same house as he was. But close to her new friends.
The sorting hat hummed, listening to her thoughts and seeing the image of Draco and how he greeted her, he would have to have words with the headmaster after the sorting and the students were in bed. Couldn't have the headmaster's daughter in danger, especially with that special blood of hers.
"It seems to me that you would be great in…" the sorting hat paused for last minute thinking over on his part, making sure that he placed the headmaster's daughter into the right house.
"RAVENCLAW!" the sorting hat shouted, and Cassandra smiled before going over to her new house, smiling at Hermione and her friends as they cheered for her as well as her house.
Cassandra cheered when her friend Hermione was sorted into Gryffindorand cheered when a girl with long blonde hair with a far away look in her grey-blue eyes was sorted into Ravenclaw.
"Hello," she said, her voice had a dream like state to it as she gazed at Cassandra with a smile.
"Hello, I'm Cassandra, or Cassie," Cassandra said, with a bright smile, before looking to see Harry Potter getting sorted.
"He's taking just as long as you, you two must be alike," the girl with long blonde hair said, leaning on Cassandra's shoulder to gaze at Harry.
Cassandra gave the girl a confused look as she smiled brightly at her before looking at Harry with a far off look. "I guess," Cassandra mumbled and cheered heartily when Harry was sorted into Gryffindor.
'Kind of wish that I was sorted into the same house,' Cassandra thought, looking over at Gryffindor table, seeing Hermione, Ron, and Harry at the same table and conversing among each other or with others beside them.
"Hey, you got us now," the girl that was leaning on Cassandra's shoulder said softly, placing a hand gently over the phoenix mark that Cassandra had, making her realize that her mark was warm.
"I never got your name," Cassandra said, lightly leaning against the blonde behind her, as the girl brushed her hair behind her ear before giving Cassandra a smile, and sitting up straight with her hand out for a handshake.
"I'm Luna Lovegood," Cassandra smiled and shook her hand before going back to the sorting.
Cassandra watched her dad stood up and address the school, telling everyone of the rules that she learned while living with her dad and the teachers.
"Let the feast begin!" Albus said with a happy twinkle in his blue eyes, and a clap to make the food appear on the tables. He sat back into his chair, looking over at the new and old students, happy and sad at the same time. Sad for it was this year's sevenths that would have their last year at Hogwarts, and happy to have new smiling faces, and his daughter's smiling face, starting this year.
"She seems quite happy, Albus," Minerva said, gazing at the Ravenclaw table seeing Cassandra and Luna chatting away with Cassandra looking behind her to smile at Hermione now and then.
"She does, and I'm proud of her already," Albus said with a bright smile, before taking a bite of his dinner, while nodding and talking to the teachers sitting around him as they conversed with everyone, even Severus was talking to Quirrell, the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher.
Cassandra felt happy, as she was Hogwarts, has two fathers who love her very dearly, a friend who knows her secret and classes will be starting tomorrow.
"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Luna asked, her voice quiet and sweet, her head tipped upwards to gaze at the ceiling above them.
"Actually, I'm nervous. I didn't know I was a witch till a few days ago," Cassie said quietly, her head down, her cheeks flushing red.
"The nargels around your head must be causing your nerves," Luna said dreamily, gazing at Cassie, her gaze slightly unfocused.
"Nargels?" Cassie asked, her voice confused, her head tilting in a questioning manner.
After that, Cassie didn't really remember a whole lot of her first official night as a student. She remembered walking to the Ravenclaw tower and to her bed; falling asleep almost instantly.
In the morning, Cassie woke up first and hurriedly got ready for the day, hoping to visit her parents first. She really wanted to speak to her father.
Walking outside of the Ravenclaw tower, she met up with Hermione, who was making her way down to the Great Hall for breakfast.
"Cassie! Good morning!" Hermione called out, before meeting Cassie halfway, and together they started walking up to the Headmaster's office.
"Morning, Hermione. How was your first night?" Cassie asked, as she whispered the family password to her dad's office.
"It was okay, I wish you were in the same house though," Hermione said, her smile small and wishful.
Cassie sighed, before brightening up, "hey, we could always meet up together for breakfast, and study together," she said, smiling brightly at her friend before opening the door to her dad's office, seeing her dad and her father in their spots; her father still asleep with his head under his wing and her dad was reading something and would write something on a different piece of paper.
Her dad looked up, his blue eyes twinkling, his smile big and happy as Cassy ran up to him and hugged him tightly; startled up running feet, Fawkes snapped her head up and chirped.
Good morning, my dear. Did you sleep peacefully?
Cassie went to her father and petted his head, biting her bottom lip, unsure if she should speak back, but thinking that Hermione already knew she was a phoenix's daughter, might as well just talk to her father.
"Very well, thank you. It was…different sleeping in a room with other girls, but it was nice. And I made friends!" She said excitingly, smiling happily at her father, before looking over her shoulder to look at Hermione, who was looking back with her mouth gaping before she smiled back at Cassie, walking further into the room.
Is she one of your friends that you made, my dear? Fawkes asked, rubbing his beak on her cheek.
"Yes. Hermione, I'd like to introduce you to my father. Father, this is Hermione," Cassie said, as Hermione walked over to stand beside Cassie, curtsying at Fawkes.
Fawkes let out a few chirps; Hermione looked at Cassie, knowing that she could understand the phoenix.
"He…well, chuckled saying you don't have to curtsy, saying hello would do the trick as well," Cassie said, petting her father's head.
"He's beautiful," Hermione whispered, though Fawkes still heard, puffed up his chest in pride, and then swung his head around to glare slightly at the headmaster as he started to laugh.
Hermione blushed, as the Headmaster's laugh turned into chuckles, then stopping, but a big smile still on his face.